Rocambole () is a fictional adventurer created by Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail, a 19th-century French writer. The word ''rocambolesque'' has become common in French and other languages to label any kind of fantastic adventure.

Overview

The series introduces Rocambole as a highly resourceful adolescent, an orphan adopted by the wily crone Maman Fipart. He first assists the evil Andrea de Felipone, a.k.a. Sir Williams, in his fight against Andrea's half-brother, the Comte de Kergaz. A major protagonist in the battle is a courtesan with a heart of gold and a fearless temper, Louise Charmet, a.k.a. Baccarat. In the third novel of the series, Rocambole takes over and kills Sir Williams. But Baccarat again thwarts his evil schemes, and he ends up imprisoned in the hard labor camp of Toulon (like Jean Valjean in

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

's 1862 novel '' Les Misérables''.) In the fourth novel, an older and wiser Rocambole, who has been pardoned, has become a do-gooder; however, the feuilleton (installment) was not popular with the readers, and Ponson du Terrail re-wrote a new version in which Rocambole escapes from Toulon, redeems himself and becomes a full-fledged hero. The later novels portray Rocambole as a fearless hero fighting a variety of dastardly villains such as the

Thuggee Thuggee (, ) are actions and crimes carried out by Thugs, historically, organised gangs of professional robbers and murderers in India. The English word ''thug'' traces its roots to the Hindi ठग (), which means 'swindler' or 'deceiver'. Rela ...

, etc. He has become a veritable mastermind who has been to India and has gathered around him a coterie of equally talented assistants. Rocambole anticipates characters such as A. J. Raffles, Arsène Lupin, Fantômas,

The Saint The Saint may refer to: Fiction * Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations: ** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–43), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders an ...

, Doc Savage, Judex and The Shadow. In a final chapter to the sixth volume, Ponson du Terrail revealed that Rocambole really existed and was narrating his own exploits through him, making Rocambole perhaps the first

metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction which emphasises its own narrative structure in a way that continually reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and story ...

al hero of his kind.

Books

# ''Les Drames de Paris'' (1857) (aka L'Héritage Mystérieux) # ''Le Club des Valets de Coeur'' (1858) # ''Les Exploits de Rocambole'' (1858–59) # ''Les Chevaliers du Clair de Lune'' (1860–62) # ''La Résurrection de Rocambole'' (1865–66) (this novel rewrites and supersedes 4 above) # ''Le Dernier Mot de Rocambole'' (1866–67) # ''Les Misères de Londres'' (1867–68) # ''Les Démolitions de Paris'' (1869) # ''La Corde du Pendu'' (1870, never completed)

By other writers

* by

Contant Gueroult Contant is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alexis Contant (1858–1918), Canadian composer, organist, pianist, and music educator * George Contant George C. Contant, aka George Sontag (April 10, 1864 - 1930), was an outlaw ...

: *# ''Le Retour et la Fin de Rocambole'' (1875) *# ''Les Nouveaux Exploits de Rocambole'' (1880) * by

Jules Cardoze Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...

: *# ''Les Bâtards de Rocambole'' (1886) * by

Leite Bastos Leite ( or ) is a Portuguese and Galician surname (literally ''Milk'') that may refer to: * Adriano Leite Ribeiro, better known as Adriano (born 1982), Brazilian footballer * Cláudia Cristina Leite Inácio Pedreira (born 1980), Brazilian singer ...

: *# ''As Maravilhas do Homem Pardo'' (188?) (Portuguese-language sequel to ''La Corde du Pendu''.) *by

Frédéric Valade Frédéric and Frédérick are the French versions of the common male given name Frederick. They may refer to: In artistry: * Frédéric Back, Canadian award-winning animator * Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor * Frédéric Bazille, Impressio ...

: *# ''Le Petit-Fils de Rocambole'' (1922) *# ''La Haine immortelle'' (1922) *# ''Le Testament de Rocambole'' (1931) *# ''Olivia contre Rocambole'' (1931) *# ''La Justice de Rocambole'' (1932) *# ''La Belle Olivia'' (1932) *# ''Les Larmes de Rocambole'' (1933) *# ''Le Châtiment d'Olivia'' (1933) * by

Michel Honaker Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), S ...

: *# ''Rocambole et le Spectre de Kerloven'' (2002) (This series of novels crosses over Rocambole and Paul Féval's ''

Les Habits Noirs 250px, Cover for a French edition of ''Les Habits Noirs''. ''Les Habits Noirs'' is a book series written over a thirty-year period, comprising eleven novels, created by Paul Féval, père, a 19th-century French writer. By its methods, themes and ...

''). *# ''Rocambole et les Marionnettes de la Mort'' (2003) ocambole and the Puppets of Death*# ''Rocambole et le Pacte de Sang'' (2004) ocambole and the Pact of Blood*# ''Rocambole et le Diable de Montrouge'' (2005) ocambole and the Devil of Montrouge(2005) *#'' Rocambole et la Sorcière du Marais'' (2005) ocambole and the Witch of the Marais(2005)

Films

* Rocambole (Fr.; serial, B&W., 1914) * Rocambole (Fr.; serial, B&W., 1924) * Rocambole (Fr.; B&W., 1932) * Rocambole (Mexico; B&W., 69 min., 1946) * Rocambole (Fr.; B&W., 105 min., 1948) * The Revenge of Baccarat (Fr.; B&W., 105 min., 1948) * (Fr.; col., 100 min., 1963)

Television

Rocambole (French ORTF, B&W., three seasons of twenty-six 15-min. episodes, 1964–65)

Comics

Hungarian comics artist György Szitas adapted ''Rocamble'' into a comic strip.

External links

The French Wold Newton Universe – RocamboleEbooks gratuits search for the auteur Ponson du terrail

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocambole Fictional male detectives Fictional French people in literature Literary characters introduced in 1857 Male characters in literature Orphan characters in literature